Entertainment, business and compliance attorney Seth Berenzweig joins ‘Mornings with Maria’ to weigh in on Paramount’s bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, as Netflix faces a possible class action lawsuit over the merger.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., accuses President Donald Trump of embracing “authoritarianism” after learning that Jared Kushner contributed to Paramount’s hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.
“A handful of giant corporations already control a large share of the media,” Sanders wrote in an X-post on Wednesday. “Trump wants to make things worse. He vows to be ‘involved’ in allowing his allies, his son-in-law, and the Saudis, Qataris and Emiratis to buy Warner Bros.”
Sanders added: “That’s authoritarianism. Not democracy.”
On Friday, Netflix Friday agreed to acquire Warner Bros.’s film and television studios and streaming platform. Discovery, HBO Max, in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $27.75 per share from Warner Bros. Discovery.
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Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., accused President Donald Trump of embracing “authoritarianism” after learning that Jared Kushner’s hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery helped promote it. (Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters / Reuters)
Then on Monday, Paramount launched a $108 billion hostile takeover bid for the entire company, including its cable assets such as CNN.
Trump did not say Monday whether he supported Paramount’s bid, which is funded in part by his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s private equity firm, Affinity Partners, and the president told reporters he had not discussed the deal with Kushner.
Before Paramount announced a hostile takeover bid, Trump said he himself will play a role in the proposed Netflix takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.
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“I will be involved in that decision,” Trump said as he walked into the Kennedy Center on December 7. “They have a very large market share, and if they get Warner Bros. have, you know, that stock going up a lot.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that Paramount owner David Ellison told Trump officials he would make sweeping changes to CNN if he became the new owner.
Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday that it was “imperative” that CNN be part of any sale of the Warner Bros. Studios.
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Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., accused President Donald Trump on Wednesday of embracing “authoritarianism.” (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“I think the people who have run CNN for the last long time are a disgrace,” he said. “I think it’s absolutely essential that CNN is there sold because you certainly wouldn’t want to post people, just leave those people some money, good money at CNN, so they can, you know, spend even more money spreading poison because it’s lies. It’s a shame. So I wouldn’t want to see it the same company ends up at CNN.”
Trump has a close relationship with Ellison and his father, billionaire Larry Ellison, but has remained largely neutral in the bidding war. He last week praised Netflix as a “great company” and called its CEO, Ted Sarandos, a “fantastic man,” while still expressing concerns about the company’s market share.
The president also criticized Paramount during a “60 Minutes” interview in which ally-enemy Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., on Truth Social wrote that the new property is “NO BETTER THAN THE OLD PROPERTY.”
Ellison acquired Paramount in August as part of its $8 billion merger with Skydance Media.
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Paramount CEO David Ellison announced a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. on December 8. Discovery. (Charly Tribelleau/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
